En 2015, james macdonald realizó un viaje misionero mundial que fue tan estresante que necesitó un safari en Sudáfrica para ayudarlo a recuperarse. Al menos, eso es lo que MacDonald, el fundador recientemente despedido de Capilla de la Biblia de la cosecha, afirmó justificar que la iglesia pagara el safari para él y otros dos, según su guardaespaldas en ese momento, Jacob Ross.
Pero eso no es todo.
En una carta que Ross envió al liderazgo de Harvest a fines de enero y que se me filtró recientemente, Ross escribe que MacDonald no estaba satisfecho con su presupuesto inicial de $5,000 para el safari. "James decidió que quería dispararle a un animal de alto valor", escribe Ross, "un sable para ser específico, que costó entre $15,000 y $20,000".
Entonces, Ross escribe que MacDonald llamó fred adams, exdirector financiero de Harvest, y consiguió que enviara dinero adicional de la iglesia a la compañía de safaris, “citando el estrés del viaje y la necesidad de unas vacaciones relajantes haciendo algo que disfrutaba”.
[pullquote]“’James decided he wanted to shoot a high value animal . . . a sable to be specific, which cost $15,000 to $20,000.’ So, Ross writes that MacDonald called Fred Adams, former Harvest CFO, and got him to wire additional money from the church.”[/pullquote]Ross also writes that on the same missions trip, Harvest paid for a three- to four-day stay at a resort in the Dominican Republic for MacDonald, Ross, and Harvest Executive Pastor jeff donaldson. (Tanto Donaldson como Ross también se habían unido a MacDonald en el safari).Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of “Baptistland: A Memoir of Abuse, Betrayal, and Transformation” by Christa Brown. To donate, haga clic aquí.
No solo Harvest pagó por los tres hombres, escribió Ross, la iglesia también pagó para que sus esposas volaran y se unieran a ellos. “Nuevamente, James justificó este gasto como resultado del estrés extremo al que estaba sometido durante el viaje”.
Estos son solo dos de los numerosos incidentes en la carta de Ross, que muestran que MacDonald vivía a lo grande con los centavos de la iglesia. Además, Ross no es el único ex empleado de Harvest que alega estas cosas. Una carta de otro exempleado alega que mientras Harvest imponía "medidas de austeridad" como quitar los dispensadores de café y agua, MacDonald estaba remodelando su oficina por $150,000 y autorizando una cerca de $40,000 para un whitetail. manada de ciervos trofeo en el Campamento Cosecha.
Estos gastos se sumaron al salario de MacDonald, que la iglesia sigue manteniendo en privado. Sin embargo, Dave Corning, un anciano fundador que presidió la junta de ancianos durante 21 años, me dijo que en 2009, MacDonald estaba ganando $550,000 combinados de la iglesia y Caminar en la Palabra, el ministerio de difusión de MacDonald.
Seis cartas devastadoras enviadas a los ancianos, pero suprimidas
La carta de Ross fue una de las seis cartas del personal anterior y actual que se presentaron a los ancianos de Harvest hace unas cinco semanas, según el élder Dan George y el ex élder Mike Dunwoody.
Estas cartas son devastadoras y documentan decenas de incidentes en los que MacDonald se burló, amenazó y menospreció al personal, los contratistas y otros líderes cristianos; mintió y se retractó de las promesas; se enfureció con los que lo rodeaban; y prosperó financieramente a expensas de la iglesia. Me comuniqué con la iglesia y MacDonald para comentar sobre estas cartas, pero no respondieron.
[pullquote]”Dunwoody and George said when the elder board met on February 5th, Harvest Assistant Senior Pastor Rick Donald . . . adamantly opposed releasing the letters. So they were withheld.”[/pullquote]I have read all six of the letters, though only five were given to me to publish. I am releasing information today from two of them, which relate to finances—Ross’ letter and a letter by Dean Butters, former executive director of business operations at Harvest. Both Ross and Butters authenticated their letters with me but declined to comment due to non-disclosure agreements.Dunwoody y George dijeron que estas seis cartas fueron clave en la decisión de la junta de despedir a MacDonald. (La gota que colmó el vaso fue Los viles comentarios grabados de MacDonald que se transmitieron en el programa de radio de Chicago de Mancow Muller.)
Pero Dunwoody y George agregaron que la junta completa casi no pudo ver las cartas. Dijeron que la mayoría de las cartas inicialmente se enviaron al pastor del campus Greg Bradshaw, a quien la junta le había pedido que revisara las cartas con otros tres ancianos. Dunwoody y George dijeron que cuando la junta de ancianos se reunió el 5 de febrero, el pastor asistente principal de Harvest rick donald, que estaba en la junta en ese momento pero que desde entonces renunció, se opuso rotundamente a entregar las cartas a la junta. Así que fueron retenidos. Me acerqué a Donald para hacer comentarios, pero no respondió.
Sin embargo, George dijo que pudo obtener todas las cartas de forma independiente poco después de esa reunión. y el 7 de febreroel, George y varios ancianos se reunieron con MacDonald en el campus de Harvest en Elgin. Y en esa reunión, George dijo que presentó las cartas al grupo, y MacDonald argumentó que las cartas no deberían ir a los ancianos. En cambio, MacDonald dijo que deberían ir a Grupo de Resolución Crossroads, la empresa que Harvest había contratado para administrar su “proceso de reconciliación” con las partes agraviadas.
George dijo que Donald y el élder Steve Houston, que presidieron el comité ejecutivo de ancianos antes de que se disolviera, argumentaron firmemente a favor de la sugerencia de MacDonald.
A pesar de sus deseos, George distribuyó las cartas a los otros ancianos; el último de ellos fue a la junta el 12 de febrero.el, el mismo día que MacDonald fue despedido.
Más evidencia de que MacDonald gastó el dinero de la iglesia en un estilo de vida lujoso
Al igual que Ross, la carta de Butters documenta numerosos incidentes en los que MacDonald gastó el dinero de la iglesia para mantener su lujoso estilo de vida. Y aparentemente, el safari africano de MacDonald no fue un incidente aislado. Butters escribe que MacDonald “dirigió varios viajes de cacería por los EE. UU. y África para sus amigos y los presentó como un gasto comercial”.
Butters también dijo que cuando MacDonald se mudó de su casa en Inverness a su casa en Elgin, la iglesia pagó $50,000 para mudar y almacenar sus posesiones personales. Butters agregó que MacDonald también donó a la iglesia un jacuzzi roto que costó más reparar que reemplazar. Sin embargo, según Butters, MacDonald tomó una deducción de impuestos de $8,000 por la donación.
La carta de Butters también revela que MacDonald y otros ejecutivos de Harvest recibieron bonificaciones cuando la iglesia alcanzó ciertos "objetivos de ingresos". Agrega que un año, alguien manipuló los libros y atribuyó los ingresos de Camp Harvest al fondo general para que los ejecutivos de la iglesia calificaran para las bonificaciones.
Butters también escribe que MacDonald:
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Compró más de $500 en cigarros con fondos de la iglesia
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Le dio una propina a una mesera $400 con fondos de la iglesia
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Gastó más de $50,000 del dinero de la iglesia en su campamento el primer año de “Actuar como hombres Palooza.”
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Exigió que se instalara cable de fibra óptica en Camp Harvest para que el servicio de Internet fuera más rápido, con un costo de $20,000 por mes en un contrato de tres años.
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Exigió que la iglesia pagara la reparación de su camioneta después de que raspó y abolló una de las columnas en el estacionamiento de la iglesia de Elgin, y culpó a la seguridad por “colocar mal los conos”.
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Exigió que su oficina fuera remodelada en 2013 por alrededor de $150,000, mientras que toda la gerencia media y alta, y sus subordinados directos, recibieron un recorte salarial del 10 por ciento. La iglesia también había eliminado el café y el agua para los empleados como “medidas de austeridad” debido a las escasas donaciones. (Ross también escribe sobre la remodelación, señalando que muchos gastos "excedieron lo razonable", incluido el "escritorio de madera hecho a la medida de Ross que costó varios miles de dólares").
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Durante el mismo período, la iglesia compró cercas para la nueva manada de ciervos en Camp Harvest por más de $40,000.
El "presupuesto negro" y la "chequera ejecutiva" de Harvest
No está claro cómo la iglesia justificó el pago de los lujosos gastos personales de MacDonald, o cómo se presupuestaron estos gastos. Envié correos electrónicos esta semana a la junta de ancianos, así como al director financiero de Harvest, Jeff Sharda, pero nadie respondió.
Sin embargo, como informé anteriormente en Revista MUNDO, dos exejecutivos de Harvest dijeron que la iglesia ocultó alrededor del 20 por ciento de su presupuesto a todos menos a los principales empleados de la iglesia y al comité ejecutivo (CE). Ambos dijeron que este llamado “presupuesto negro” estaba controlado por Fred Adams.
Además, esta semana, Bill Sperling, ex miembro del CE y actual anciano y tesorero de la iglesia, dio una idea de los gastos de MacDonald's en una reunión de preguntas y respuestas. Según Sperling, la iglesia mantenía una “chequera ejecutiva” que equivalía al uno por ciento de los ingresos anuales de la iglesia, alrededor de $250,000. Sperling admitió que este "talonario de cheques" era "demasiado liberal" y "no punteaba i's y cruzaba t's". Agregó que miembros del ex comité ejecutivo conocían de esta chequera, al igual que los auditores. (capín crouse lleva a cabo auditorías anuales de Harvest).
[pullquote]”According to Sperling, the church maintained an ‘executive checkbook’ that amounted to one-percent of the annual income of the church—about $250,000. . . . He added that members of the former executive committee knew about this checkbook, as well as the auditors.”[/pullquote]Four of the five members of the former executive committee remain on Harvest’s elder board. They are Bill Sperling, Steve Huston, Jeff Smith, and Sam Booras. Former EC member Ron Duitsman renunciar en febrero.El relato de Sperling parece consistente con lo que Ross escribió en su carta. Ross dijo que MacDonald tenía una tarjeta de crédito de la iglesia “que se entregó fuera del protocolo normal de la iglesia, configurada directamente a través de Fred (Adams)”. Ross dijo que él y la ex asistente de MacDonald, Chiquita Brown, también recibieron tarjetas de crédito vinculadas a esa cuenta.
Ross dijo que recibió instrucciones de poner "cualquier cosa relacionada con James en la tarjeta de James". Al final de cada mes, Ross dijo que entregaría los estados de cuenta de la tarjeta directamente a Adams con descripciones de cada cargo. Ross dijo que estos cargos mensuales eran "regularmente superiores a $10,000" y ocasionalmente tan altos como "$20,000 a más de $30,000".
Ross dijo que en 2015, MacDonald le indicó que reservara unas vacaciones en un resort en Naples, Florida, para MacDonald y su esposa, Kathy, y que las cargara a su tarjeta de crédito emitida por la iglesia. Ross dijo que MacDonald lo autorizó a gastar “lo que fuera necesario”. Ross agregó: “(MacDonald) me dijo que llamaría a Fred y a sus amigos en la junta de ancianos para justificar el gasto según fuera necesario debido al año difícil que tuvo y el costo que le costó”. Ross dijo que las vacaciones costaron más de $20,000.
Según Rusty Leonard del grupo de vigilancia, Vigilancia del ministerio, el uso de fondos de la iglesia para uso personal normalmente califica como malversación. Sin embargo, si los gastos de MacDonald fueron aprobados por el comité ejecutivo, no es legalmente malversación porque la junta le dio a MacDonald la cobertura que necesitaba para tomar el dinero.
Sin embargo, Leonard dijo que sospecha que el IRS podría considerar algunos de los gastos de MacDonald como ingresos. Entonces, si MacDonald no pagó impuestos sobre esos ingresos, podría considerarse evasión de impuestos.
Ross & Butters rompen el silencio debido a la esperanza de un cambio
Ross dijo que dejó su puesto después de que MacDonald lo reprendiera continuamente, llamándolo "estúpido", "incompetente", "inútil" y "inútil para él", resultó demasiado. Ross dijo que permaneció en silencio hasta ahora debido a una mezcla de miedo y deseo de no “dañar a mi iglesia”.
Dijo que finalmente rompió su silencio porque creía que la gran mayoría del personal, los ancianos y los miembros de Harvest “no están al tanto de muchas de las situaciones” que destacó en su carta. Ross agregó: “Aquellos que buscan tomar la decisión correcta con respecto al futuro de Harvest Bible Chapel simplemente no pueden hacerlo sin la información correcta”.
De manera similar, Butters escribe que dejó la iglesia porque su "capacidad para continuar creyendo lo mejor sobre (los líderes sobre él) disminuyó". Agregó que “las cosas que estaba viendo con mis ojos, escuchando con mis oídos y sintiendo en mi alma se volvieron más convincentes que la narrativa que continuamente se tejía”.
Butters dijo que escribió su carta “con la esperanza de que ayudará a evitar que James MacDonald y otros en la Capilla de la Biblia de la Cosecha y otras personas en la Capilla Bíblica de la Cosecha que cumplen sus órdenes manipulen y maltraten espiritualmente a otros”.
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This tweet put me over my ripping point!
Thank you, Julie, for every word, for all the hours, for all the intensity behind this work. I thank God that former employees and members of the flock trust you to get this out there.
Yes! Thank you Julie!! I’m sure you are getting all kinds of pressure to drop this, but please don’t until the whole truth is out. Painful as that might be, it’s the only way forward.
I really didn’t think I could feel any “sicker” about this than I already did and then I read this. I’m sooo disgusted!! And this is probably only a fraction of what went on…
There is no reason why the incompetent executive committee should last another week. How can you defend the great commission being the highest priority and then read this story? So sad to be reading this. “The love of money is root of all kinds of evil.”
I have been following your investigation and appreciate your careful reporting. My fascination lies in the area of how this started. What can we keep an eye out for? Of course there have been lots of scandals in lots of churches, but your careful reporting draws me in because I feel there may be more of a solution within your investigation than is provided in typical scandal news.
I suspect there must have been a point where things started to go wrong – surely it isn’t just a matter of a bad guy starting a church as a scam from the start? What was he like at first and what were the earliest signs of change? Is the solution as easy as keeping financial reports public (which all churches I’ve belonged to do), or is it more a matter of noticing when those financial reports start to sound more vague? I’ve never thought an overly large board (of elders or others) would be a problem, but maybe it results in more opportunity to head in a wrong direction?
Thank you and keep investigating.
These allegations are credible and are attributable to multiple sources. There certainly appears to be a conspiracy to commit multiple FELONIES by MacDonald and certain past and current members of the Elder Board. If this doesn’t get the attention of the FBI and IRS, nothing will!
Thank you for exposing James Mcdonald, his family and leaders of Harvest. I have been a member since 2005 and actually thought all of those extravagant trips were on his personal dime.
I am left speechless with all who were involved in allowing Mcdonald’s behavior to continue for years. I am so sad to the poing I refer to my ex-pastor now as merely Mcdonald. To use the term Pastor for Mcdonald is a disgrace to those who truely fear the Lord.
God have mercy on the Mcdoanld family, and shame on the wives. A wife always knows, and if not, they possibly chose to look the other way.
I don’t know about the rest of you former attendees or members of HBC, but I would like to have my five years of 10% tithe given back to me… with interest. Then I would be able to give it with complete joy to where I currently worship the Lord! I am so sad but also angry, Lord forgive me, at what has gone on at what used to be my place of worship where God’s word was preached…. but what Julie has revealed to all of us, sadly, has not been lived out by the one behind the pulpit. Why doesn’t JMAC admit that he’s done something wrong – SIN?!!
Quite simply the most damning expose article that you’ve written to date regarding James MacDonald and those who not only knew, but enabled, his actions.
One caveat: I wish you’d identify the “worldwide missions trip.” Was it Vertical Church related? Churches Helping Churches? It’d be nice to have that clarification.
He went on the trip (with a few other leaders) in the name of touring the various HBF church plants in different locations. There was a stopover in Israel too. He recorded a sermon at (what is thought to be) Jesus’ tomb. I can’t recall who all was on that trip. Kirk VanMaanen for sure. During the trip, the Congregation saw various (well-produced) videos of the churches that we had helped fund through HBC/HBF. It was a questionable use of time and resources then. Now, it looks scandalous.
Okay – it is time to fire anyone who knew about this and said nothing. All former members of the EC should be immediately terminated, as well as anyone who took advantage of the treatment fully knowing that it was a misuse of church tithing.
Bill Sterling
steve huston
jeff smith
Mohan Zacaharia – he was on the EC, but resigned his position because he knows he’s guilty.
jeff donaldson
rick donald
Andi Rozier (possibly ALL of Vertical Church Band)
ALL campus pastors (don’t pretend you didn’t stand by and do nothing to protect your job)
John & Sherri Smith
Sharon Kostal
… just to name a few. These people need to GO.
Do NOT give another penny to Harvest until the CORRUPT leadership is GONE.
These people turned a blind eye to what was really going on.
The Elders are about as accountable as James ! Show some integrity and resign ( Steve Huston!!!) Talk about puppets!! This has to be the most abusive use I have seen in over 60 years of the Lords money. Bring on the IRS and put the guilty one in jail!! What an arrogant Jerk!
Thank you Julie Roy’s for exposing the actual truth and to those brave souls who wrote the letters Thank you.
FBI. IRS State and Federal Persecutors must be notified and brought on this scam by MacDonald, his family and his paid robbers aka “elders”.
I remember one of James’s teachings where he talked about seeing judgement issued to those who have done us special harm. He described it as a “get there early-front row seat-kind of day”. I thought NO-I wouldn’t actually want to be in that seat, lest my judgement appointment be next. After reading the information in today’s blog, I thought (for a moment) that maybe I wouldn’t mind a ticket for such an event after all.
I am more than sickened at the arrogant, thieving betrayal perpetrated by James and every single person on staff and/or in leadership who knowingly stood by while tithes to HBC were diverted from the Kingdom good for which they were intended. The vast majority of people who return a portion of their household income back to God have worked incredibly hard to earn their paychecks. Many have tithed dollar amounts that make no sense in an earthly economy, trusting fully in the Provider to meet their financial needs. The unmitigated gall of those who would abuse their sacrifice is nothing short of criminal.
With every tithe, I have always prayed that the funds would be stewarded properly. I would also remind myself that if, through any human failing, the money was not used in a God-honoring way, He would address that in His timing.
Today I pray that God will protect the hearts of His cheerful givers, that none would be deterred in their faithfulness. I pray that those entrusted with church resources will steward each dollar with fear and awe of our Holy God. And I thank Him, that through His overwhelming goodness, He has already redeemed each dime for His glory.
julio,
1.) Where can we read these letters? Will you please release them?
2.) Mancow mentioned there is a “Nuclear Option”. Can you please convince him to release that? This is all dragging on long enough. The people of Harvest need to know what they’ve been supporting for years.
3.) Yes, James is gone, but this cancer runs deep in the organization. It’s going to take a lot to change course.
Get Rick Donald and Jeff Donaldson out of there immediately and start holding them accountable just as you are McDonald. They were in the inner circle and winked at the whole process.
Again Jeff Donaldson. Living high on the churches tithes that the congregation sacrificially gave. So that he could join MacDonald on a safari and the Dominican Republic. Showing zero wisdom with respect to the church’s finances. When will he be fired????
I find it interesting that people are lining up to apologize for their misdeeds only after they get caught. And I am also surprised that some people who worked for JM and experienced his disgraceful, reprehensible, and shameful behavior would continue to attend a church under his leadership. Everyone, and I mean everyone, who knew about this lunacy should have left and/or should leave now. While forgiveness is appropriate, allowing these people to continue to lead HBC is unsafe, unsound, and irresponsible.
THIS would be a great article for the Daily Herald or Chicago Tribune. It seems that’s the only way that HBC members pull their head out of the sand and actually acknowledge reality.
Oh, YES!!
Wakeup Harvest!!! This is how your Harvest Leadership spends your sacrificial gifts to spread the Gospel. I would not give a dime to this abomination.
There has to be legal ramifications/accountability for this.
What’s worse are those still living the lie of deception remaining in positions of authority at Harvest.
Every staff member saw the entitlement, every staff member saw the unbiblical behavior. How can Harvest continue with any of the current pastoral/elder staff? It cannot.
It’s incomprehensible that a man who claims to love God would do the things MacDonald has done. It’s equally incomprehensible that so many others who claim to love God would facilitate his sin. Thanks very much, Julie. Remarkable reporting on a remarkable story.
So much of what I’ve heard through the various venues where James MacDonald has been recently exposed has made me think, “Yep, that sounds consistent with the James I knew years ago.” But this report (as did the Anne Green interview) has turned my stomach.
Deep and wide is the egregiousness of what has gone on at Harvest through James MacDonald and those who have helped and benefitted from it all. Lord, please protect the fragile sheep who might quit on church–and even on You–because of all of this.
Julie, I pray for strength and protection for you. I believe this is the Lord’s work you are doing. Other people should have done this work long ago, but they were too busy being complicit in it. Praise the Lord that He is bigger than any of this. If the gates of hell cannot prevail against His Church, then neither can the shenanigans of James MacDonald et al, no matter how public they become.
Power money & Ego. plus surround yourself with enablers (yes men) and this is what you end up with.
seriously , how does this guy sleep at night ?
Past high time for Federal Government and its agencies to get involved the financial scams run by McDonald, his family but also by other scam artists like Rick Donakd, Jeff Smith or Steve Houston and others. This is racketeering.
As a member at Harvest for 20 years, this news is the final breaking point for me. The amount of corruption and dirty secrets at Harvest goes farther and deeper than I ever thought possible with people I put A LOT of trust in. I would always try to justify something good about Harvest whenever bad news would come out of the church. However, I’ve finally reached the point of “enough is enough.” Feeling so hurt, betrayed, angry, shocked… I know James and his family personally which makes this sting even more. I really see this as a slow death for Harvest. Giving is going to dry up and the church will no longer be able to meet its obligations over time. Heartbreaking.
I read on a twitter feed (so don’t know the true veracity of that information) that there is a rabbi trust worth $12 million that could become irrevocable for MacDonald (? others; my limited understanding is that the rabbi trust is a tax sheltered means of growing retirement monies). In trying to find information re: rabbi trusts, it looks like they can be used for the debts of the company unless greater than 50% of the board changes. Unfortunately, the article that is providing this information was 20 years old. Does anyone know if the calls for all of the EC to resign would trigger this sort of thing? This is when I think law enforcement needs to get involved; I do not know if that would freeze assets but the living large on the backs of good Christians…..HBC (the church) deserves some of MacDonald’s assets to unwind the debt he left them holding.
No, it is likely not $12 million, but between $2.5 mil and $3 million. The first mention of the Rabbi Trust in the church’s EOY statements from Capin Crouse (available online on the church website) is 2015. In the 2016 statement notes, the Rabbi Trust is mentioned again, but this time is characterized as “revocable.” Says the same thing for 2017. So, going off the public info we have, assume that the RT was set-up in 2015, it’s unlikely that the trust would have grown to $12 mil. The statement notes also imply that there is more than one beneficiary of the RT.